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Keeping you up-to-date on the latest in film

The characters in “Ida” are often dwarfed within the frame of the film by their surroundings, whether it’s architecture or a vast sky. The film, shot in classic Academy ratio and shot in stark black and white, positions its characters near the frame’s bottom, accentuating the empty space — and the cosmic smallness of the women inhabiting it. Above there is almost a heavy weight, pinning them down. Or there might be something that can offer answers, can offer absolution… Read More »

“BLENDED” Adam Sandler has had of late an almost impressively laugh-free, lazy run of terrible films of late — very bad, undisciplined films at best, the type of film that makes you want to renounce the cinematic art form at worst (and I’m specifically talking about “Grown Ups 2”). It’s hard to watch movies like “Just Go With It” and “Jack and Jill” and not just think that Sandler made these movies as a flimsy pretext to take a cool… Read More »

“MUPPETS MOST WANTED” The Muppets are back again with “Muppets Most Wanted,” a follow-up to 2011’s relaunch of Jim Henson’s beloved creations on the big screen. The 2011 film, an Oscar winner for one of its wonderful songs, charmed the pants off audiences; this latest comedy adventure starring Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the rest of the gang isn’t that good, and it certainly doesn’t live up to the classics. But barring a few missteps, “Muppets Most Wanted” isn’t… Read More »

“The Giver” might be the granddaddy of the current young adult dystopian science fiction phase in print, but its film adaptation might at long last be too little, too late to make much of a splash. Despite a fine cast including Oscar-winning actors Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep, “The Giver” feels limp in comparison to many of the other films that have seen release lately. Lois Lowry’s book is beloved among preteens (and educators) as a stepping stone novel to… Read More »

Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood” captures all of childhood in a day, or at least an afternoon. An experiment in patience and perseverance, Linklater’s film tells the story of a young boy’s coming of age, from 6 to 18, as his young actor ages across the years during which Linklater shot the film. In that way it’s nearly impossible to separate “Boyhood” from the method by which it was created, because the gimmick at its center is the film’s ineffable beating heart.… Read More »

“HEAVEN IS FOR REAL” The only thing indisputably for real is confirmation bias, in not only this film from writer-director Randall Wallace, but the real-life near-death experience reported by then-4-year-old Colton Burpo, son of pastor Todd Burpo. The Burpo clan has made a mint in reporting this feel-good story about the afterlife, or more specifically the Christian vision of heaven, first transcribed into a book and now into the film “Heaven Is For Real,” which knocks down several flimsy straw-man… Read More »

In the not-too-distant future, the governments of the world, seeking a last-ditch effort to stop the debilitating effects of climate change, deploy a radical method of reversing heating trends. This backfires spectacularly. It does indeed cool the Earth — right into a new ice age, eradicating virtually all life on the planet. Whoops. What remains of civilization and humanity can only be found aboard the Snowpiercer, a train outfitted with a perpetual motion engine that speeds around the world. It… Read More »

“UNDER THE SKIN” “Under the Skin” is the rare film to depict the truly alien — and not only pertaining to its central character, but a film that presents the mundane and normalcy of everyday human life in new angles scarcely seen in cinema. It’s one of a very few recent films that is best left experienced, as to attempt to describe it in any thorough fashion might rob it of its insidious, terrifying power. Director Jonathan Glazer here… Read More »

“THE LEGO MOVIE” The success of “The Lego Movie” is almost a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s a great movie. On the other, it’s almost definitely going to convince Hollywood studios that people flocked to see it in theaters because they liked the brand, leading to who knows what film adaptations of toys and breakfast cereals and restaurant mascots to come. That’s a clear misinterpretation of why “The Lego Movie” works; sure, it’s made as a paean, ultimately, to… Read More »

Near the end of “Think Like a Man Too,” a character played by Michael Ealy says to the character played by Kevin Hart something many audience members might have been thinking themselves: Just stop. Make no mistake: Hart is a talented, funny guy. He’s also — and I expect the box office opening of “Think Like a Man Too” to bear this out — fast becoming a genuine movie star. His presence in films geared toward a primary black audience,… Read More »

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Near the end of “Think Like a Man Too,” a character played by Michael Ealy says to the character played by Kevin Hart something many audience members might have been thinking themselves: Just stop.

Make no mistake: Hart is a talented, funny guy. He’s also — and I expect the box office opening of “Think Like a Man Too” to bear this out — fast becoming a genuine movie star. His presence in films geared toward a primary black audience, such as “Think Like a Man,” “Ride Along” and now this sequel, has resulted each time in massive returns.

So why not increase the amount of Hart? The problem is, Hart becomes too much after a while, and the film is overly burdened by his repetitive schtick because of it, all slapstick and screaming and little else.

The original “Think Like a Man” was a pretty dire romantic comedy loosely based on Steve Harvey’s bestselling advice book “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man,” and the film unfortunately took the step to actually dispense with advice. “Think Like a Man Too” is largely free, until a lamentable final 20 minutes, of the moralizing (and book advertising) that made the original film unenjoyable. It’s funnier and looser, taking advantage of its Las Vegas setting to play in a sandbox of neon debauchery.

Sure, “The Hangover” did that too, so setting a relationship comedy in Vegas, particularly one with imminent nuptials possibly threatened by party-related mishaps, will inevitably draw comparisons to that film.

But the fact is that so few films are made for and geared specifically toward black audiences that you can hardly begrudge putting a specific demographic twist on something familiar, particularly when you put a major draws like Hart and the rest of this cast.

Hart reprises his role as Cedric, now tasked as best man for Michael’s (Terrence J) wedding to Candace (Regina Hall). Cedric takes it upon himself to organize one massive bachelor party for Michael and the groomsmen, though one mishap after another gets in the way.

Meanwhile, the wedding party deals with its struggles. Dominic’s (Ealy) relationship with Lauren (Taraji P. Henson) might be threatened by their mutual professional ambition. Jeremy (Jerry Ferrera) and Kristen (Gabrielle Union) are trying to have a baby and nervous at the prospect. Maya (Meagan Good) is suspicious of Zeke’s (Romany Malco) storied sexual history. Tish (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and Bennett (Gary Owen) are tremendously dorky. And even the bride has her struggles with Michael’s doting mother (Jenifer Lewis).

The bachelor and bachelorette parties go awry, of course; “Think Like a Man Too” is never as raunchy as recent comedies (such as this year’s “About Last Night,” which features many members of this cast) and mines most of its laughs from Hart’s clowning. Which is funny to a point — there is one amusing scene in a male strip club in which Hart goes predictably nuts, along with its prison aftermath — but you wish after a while the movie had something else.

Here’s hoping for something else in the inevitable “Think Like a Man 3,” because while this movie wasn’t for me, I suspect it will hit the spot for audiences hungry for representation. And so far, Hart’s the guy to provide it.